Inmate escapes from Sonoma County Jail

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An inmate serving time for a large-scale fraud conviction escaped from custody in Santa Rosa on Monday, authorities said.

Zephyr Malik Carter, 41, ran away from a work crew at the Sonoma County Jail in Santa Rosa where he was serving a two-year, eight-month sentence for his role in a wide-ranging credit card fraud and identity theft ring, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Carter was one of five co-conspirators charged with making fake credit cards, then using them to rent luxury cars, which were not returned, and for gambling at the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Carter was participating in an agricultural work crew outside a security perimeter when he walked off, according to officials. It wasn’t clear whether the escape had been planned and Carter appears to have acted alone, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Carter reportedly has ties to Oakland, and his last-known address is on Lyell Way in Hayward. He has been known to use a number of aliases including Christian Carter, Freddie Zephyr Smith and Marcus Smith, and he sometimes went by his middle name, Malik.

Though Carter is not considered to be a threat to the public, officials did warn that he has the means and ability to create fake identities and credit cards.

He is described as 5 feet 10, 200 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. He has a tattoo of a dragon on his right biceps and a tattoo of an angel on his left forearm.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 565-2185.